Contemporary China

"This textbook addresses the timely question of whether China will become a 21st century superpower. Each of its 21 chapters addresses a key challenge to China’s rise – from international relations to politics, economics, and historic and cultural legacies – with a clear empirical question. Together, they equip students to better assess China’s future trajectory. Kristina Kironska and Richard Q. Turcsanyi have done valuable work in making a difficult topic accessible to globally minded students around the world."
- Peter Gries, Lee Kai Hung Chair and Director of the Manchester China Institute, and Professor of Chinese Politics at the University of Manchester, UK.

[This] book provides much needed information in the time of China’s growing global influence. In the Taiwan chapter, Dr. Kristina Kironska portrayed a comprehensive picture of the evolution of Taiwan’s political system, the economic pathway, as well as the progresses made in human rights. A must read for people who wish to gain understanding about the complexities and realities that Taiwan faces on the quest for establishing its identity with the historical depth tracing back to its Austronesian origin.
- Sho Lin, Chair of Amnesty International Taiwan

Contemporary China: A New Superpower? is a very pertinent and timely overview of what China has become today, both domestically and on the international stage. Authored mainly by Czech and Slovakian established China experts, the collection of chapters that it includes provides fresh views on China's history, politics, economic development, society and international relations. It is a nuanced yet comprehensive analysis of the trajectory of a country that has triggered many ill-founded myths and clichés. On the contrary, this Central European view of China is rich and accurate, putting into perspective the changes that Mao Zedong's Deng Xiaoping's and Xi Jinping's China has gone through to better assess the most likely scenarios for the future. It is a great read -- a must read in my opinion -- not only for scholars and students of China but also for business people and educated men and women at large who are curious to better comprehend a rising power that may not overtake the United States as fast as some had predicted but which is actively contributing to shaping the future of this planet.
- Jean-Pierre Cabestan, Senior Research Fellow, Asia Centre, Paris, France